1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to an ashtray and more particularly to an ashtray wherein cigarette and cigar smoke is drawn through a filter material to remove the smoke and impurities from the air.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Smokeless ashtrays are well-known devices and currently there are many types that are commercially available.
One style of a smokeless ashtray is disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,154,251 and 4,177,045 to Doyel and Orel respectively. The Doyel '251 and Orel '054 patents disclose smokeless ashtrays that include a conventional ashtray that is partially surrounded by a shroud for confining smoke. The shroud supports a motorized fan, batteries and filter element, all of which are located above the ashtray. Although it is advantageous to draw in the smoke from above as cigarette and cigar smoke rises, a common disadvantage of both of these smokeless ashtrays is that the center of gravity of the devices are located above the ashtray making the devices more susceptible to being accidentally knocked over.
Another style of a smokeless ashtray is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,671,300 to Grube et al. The Grube et al. '300 patent discloses a smokeless ashtray having a housing, a battery-driven fan mechanism and an air filter. The housing has an upper portion forming an ash collection cavity that includes openings for drawing off the smoke in a downward manner. The fan mechanism and filter elements are both located within the housing below the ash collection cavity. The air filter is substantially square in shape and has an opening in the center thereof dimensioned for positioning around the motor included in the battery-driven fan mechanism. A disadvantage of this type of ashtray is that since the air filter element is located within the housing, a substantial portion of the interior structure becomes coated with tar and nicotine, and the housing must first be disassembled to change the filter. This process is messy as the exposed interior structure is coated with tar and nicotine and the air filter must be extracted from its position around the motor while also being saturated with tar and nicotine.
Another style of a smokeless ashtray is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,259,400 to Bruno et al. The Bruno '400 patent discloses a smokeless ashtray that has a base 22 with a lid 20 hinged thereto. The filter 46 is located in the lid and the lid includes an air duct 70 for communicating with a battery driven fan mechanism located within the base. The fan mechanism is located below a dish-shaped member 40 that collects the ashes. When the lid is opened, the fan is turned on. The lid also includes a perforated dome-like member 58 for securing the filter to the lid. As shown in FIG. 6, the filter 46 lays against the inside surface of the lid 20 forming a gap between the filter and the inside of the dome-like member 58, and the air intake formed by the dome-like member 58 is substantially set back from the rim 59 of the dish-shaped member 40. The Bruno patent also discloses that it is configured to receive the same style filter as disclosed in the Grube '300 patent which is square in shape and includes an opening in the center thereof for positioning around the motor within the base.
The lid assembly of the Bruno reference has several disadvantages. First, the location of the filter 46 adjacent to the inside surface of the lid member 20 is inefficient. More specifically, the top portion of the filter element generally will not act in filtering smoke and impurities since the air that is drawn through the duct wall 70 will travel through a path of least resistance. That is, the smoke that enters the top portion of the dome-like member 58 will travel down the gap between the filter 20 and dome-like member 58 before entering the air duct 70. It is preferable to have a filter element arranged so that smoke will pass through the filter in a path that is substantially perpendicular to the plane of the filter. Second, the air intake at the dome-like member 58 is substantially set back from the dish-shaped member 40 which is undesirable in attempting to capture the smoke emanating from cigarettes or cigars. Third, because smoke encounters the dome-like member 58 prior to being filtered, the dome-like member's surfaces generally get covered with tar and nicotine making it an unpleasant task to replace the filter. Lastly, as shown in FIG. 5, the dome-like structure 58 reduces the holding capacity of the dish-shaped member 40 for the storage of ashes and butts.